A first-half strike from Nurfarisya Hanim Muhammad Zaki gave Malaysia a hard-fought 1-0 win over traditional rivals Singapore in their final tie of Group B of the AFF Under-15 Girls Championship 2019 that was played at the Institute of Physical Education Stadium.
The win has allowed the Malaysians to finish the competition on second in Group B following their earlier win over Cambodia and two losses to Laos and Thailand.
Matches involving Singapore and Malaysia at whatever level had always been keenly contested by both teams, given the tradition and history of the two nations.
And it is the same this time round as both head coaches put up their best available line up as they look to finish their campaign on a positive note.
It was the Malaysians who pressed hard at the start while Singapore were just willing to absorb the early pressure.
And after coming close in the 11th minute, the Malaysians finally scored the goal they were looking for when Nurfarisya Hanim lobbed in her effort from some 20metres out to beat Singapore custodian Noorduyanah Norazhar.
Singapore tried to make a game of it with some quick counters with Nurul’Ariqah Mohamad Erwan leading the Singapore frontline but the lack of support saw all her efforts in vain as the Malaysian defence stood firm all the way to the finish.
Following from today’s result, Singapore finished fourth with three points from one win and three defeats.
